Putin, who had been scheduled to campaign alongside Trump at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, said that he would make no joint appearances with the billionaire for the remainder of the campaign.

“As the father of two daughters, I cannot condone or defend Mr. Trump’s behavior,” the Russian leader said in a curt official statement.

In addition to cancelling his appearance with Trump, Putin, who had been expected to spend thirty-one million rubles, or roughly half a million dollars, on Trump campaign ads, is pulling those funds and will instead “focus on down-ballot races,” the statement said.

Appearing on CNN, Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, attempted to downplay the Putin defection by claiming that Trump still has the support of many other totalitarian dictators.

Andy Borowitz is the New York Times best-selling author of “The 50 Funniest American Writers,” and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes the Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news, for newyorker.com.